============================================= =================== WEBSITE NEWS http://www.foodreference.com============================================= ===================CHECK THE WEBSITE DAILY - Don't forget to check the Recipe Contests Listings on the website - they all have very good prizes - one of them has a grand prize of $100,000 (National Chicken Cooking Contest). http://www.foodreference.com/html/recipecontests.html

WEEKLY FREE COOKBOOK DRAWINGThe winner of last week's Free Cookbook Drawing is Mark ODell.He wins a signed copy of 'How to Cook Meat' by Chris Schlesinger & John Willoughby.

I was very disappointed that there were only 29 who entered last week's contest out of over 6,000 subscribers!

This week's drawing will be for a signed copy of 'THE WHOLE FOODS MARKET COOKBOOK' by Steve Petusevsky.http://www.foodreference.com/html/thewholefoodsmarketcb.html

TO ENTER THIS WEEKS DRAWING, click on the "Free weekly Cookbook Drawing" link on the upper right of the Main Page of the website. Then enter your name and email address and 'COOKBOOK DRAWING' in the 'message' field and click SUBMIT to enter for this week's drawing.

============================================= =================== 'FOOD FOR THOUGHT' BY MARK VOGEL============================================= ===================Cooking with Brains - This afternoon my friend Scott dropped by for a visit. I was busy preparing a creamy spinach soup and soon we were engrossed in comfort food and stimulating conversation. Scott is a thinker on an illimitable quest for knowledge. He never ceases to be fascinated by the.......http://www.foodreference.com/html/markvogelweeklycolumn.html

============================================= =================== QUOTE============================================= ==================="You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six."Yogi Berra, American baseball player (1925)

============================================= =================== TRIVIA============================================= ===================According to the National Onion Association, onion consumption in the U.S. has increased approximately 50% over the past 20 years.

============================================= =================== THIS WEEK'S WEBSITE OF THE WEEK:============================================= ===================Babel Fish TranslationNeed something translated? Find a foreign language website that came up in a recipe search? Babel fish will translate text or even whole webpages into English, or English into any of 15 languages.http://babel.altavista.com/tr

============================================= =================== FOOD TRIVIA QUIZ============================================= ===================The Food Trivia Quizzes are now moved to their own separate section after the newsletter is e-mailed. Check the Navigation Bar at the top of the page.

============================================= ===================READERS QUESTIONS============================================= ===================QUESTION: I am looking for recipes for kudzo. Can you help? J.

ANSWER: Young tender kudzu leaves can be cooked like any other greens (i.e. turnip greens, collards, etc). The dried, ground root is used in Asian (especially Japanese) cooking to thicken sauces, and like flour to coat foods to be deep fried.

There is a kudzo cookbook, and a related website http://www.kudzucuisine.com/index.htm

============================================= =================== TRIVIA============================================= ===================Most fruit juice begins to taste a little stale after only a few days. This applies to both fresh juice and to juice purchased in containers. Aerating the juice can help revive the taste. do this by simply pouring it back and forth a few times, or fill a blender and turn it on for 3 or 4 seconds. A little seltzer added to fruit juice also refreshes the taste.

============================================= =================== CULINARY SCHOOLS, TOURS AND CRUISES============================================= ===================Culinary schools, cooking classes and gourmet tours for the amateur & the professional. U.S. and abroad.http://www.foodreference.com/html/index.html

Split the mackerel down the back; season with pepper and salt, rub it over with oil, place it on a gridiron over a moderate fire, and, when browned on one side, turn. If it is a very large fish, divide it and broil one half at a time. When done, place it on a dish, and put butter, parsley and lemon juice over it. Serve with sauce No. 13*.

*No. 13.—lemon sauce for fish.To half a pint of butter sauce No. 10**, add the juice of a lemon and another lemon sliced; take out the seeds, and let all boil together. This is good with broiled Spanish mackerel or pompano, also with broiled fish.

**No. 10.—butter and flour sauce (or white sauce)Mix a tablespoonful of butter and one of flour; mix over the fire, with a cup of cold water, stirring all the time. When this boils, take a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, if for a number of guests, and stir in the butter quickly, adding a cup of cold water by degrees, to keep the butter from oiling; finish with the juice of a lemon, and strain. It must be served hot, and made only a few moments before it is wanted. It gets oily if kept long. Add a spoonful of chopped parsley.

============================================= =================== QUOTE============================================= ==================="You can tell a lot about a fellow's character by his way of eating jellybeans."Ronald Reagan

============================================= =================== DID YOU KNOW?============================================= ===================Epazote (Chenopodium ambrosioides) is a pungent herb used in Mexican and South American cooking. Like cilantro (coriander), it can be an acquired taste. The aroma and flavor have been described as medicinal or like turpentine or camphor. The word 'epazote' comes from the Nahuatl words 'epatl' and 'tzotl' which means an animal with a rank odor. Widely used in bean dishes, it is supposed to reduce the after effects of eating beans. Also known as Mexican tea, goosefoot, wormseed and skunkweed.

============================================= =================== WHO'S WHO IN THE CULINARY ARTS============================================= ===================Forrest Edward Mars (1904 - July 1, 1999)Son of Frank C. Mars, he helped him develop the Milky Way. He founded his own company in Europe and developed the Mars Bar, and also created M&Ms. He merged his company with his father's in 1964, creating the world's largest candy manufacturer.

============================================= =================== RECIPE REQUESTS FROM READERS============================================= ===================Can you help with a recipe for those 100 year old chinese eggs?thanks, Robin

Ming Dynasty eggs, fermented eggs, ancient eggs, century eggs, thousand year old eggs, and hundred year old eggs. These are all names for the Chinese preserved (usually Duck) eggs. They are really only about 50 to 100 days old. The eggs are covered with a coating of lime, ashes, salt and rice straw and buried in shallow holes for up to 100 days. The lime petrifies theegg making it look very old. The yolks turn amber to black with a creamy dark green yolk. They are eaten uncooked with soy sauce and minced ginger.

Combine tea, salt, ashes and lime. Using about 1/2 cup per egg, thickly coat each egg completely with this clay-like mixture. Line a large crock with garden soil and carefully lay coated eggs on top. Cover with more soil and place crock in a cool dark place. Allow to cure for 100 days. To remove coating, scrape eggs and rinse under running water to clean thoroughly. Crack lightly and remove shells. The white of the egg will appear a grayish, translucent color and have a gelatinous texture. The yolk, when sliced, will be a grayish-green color.To serve, cut into wedges and serve with: Sweet pickled scallions or any sweet pickled vegetableSauce of 2 tablespoons each vinegar, soy sauce and rice wine and 1 tablespoon minced ginger root.(From "The Regional Cooking of China" by Margret Gin and Alfred E. Castle)

Email your recipe requests, food info or history questions to me at james@foodreference.com

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============================================= =================== QUOTE============================================= ==================="You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline — it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer."Frank Zappa

============================================= =================== CULINARY CALENDAR - A Few Selected Events============================================= ===================TUESDAY, JULY 201801 Elisha Brown Jr. pressed a 1235 pound cheese ball on his farm. He presented it to president Thomas Jefferson at the White House.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 211988 An Indian Airlines Boeing 737 was charged by a bull while landing at Baroda Airport in western India. The bull lost.

THURSDAY, JULY 221967 The rock group Vanilla Fudge made its concert debut in New York.

SUNDAY, JULY 251872 It was reported to have rained black worms in Bucharest, Rumania.

MONDAY, JULY 261922 Blake Edwards, writer, director was born. One of his movies was ‘Breakfast at Tiffany's.’

For a complete listing of each day's events, go here:http://www.foodreference.com/html/HistoricEvents.html

============================================= =================== TRIVIA============================================= ==================='Entrecote' means 'between the ribs' and refers to a steak cut from the rib section of beef, specifically between the ninth and eleventh ribs. In the U.S. this would be called a rib steak. The term is sometimes used incorrectly to refer to a strip steak.

============================================= =================== QUOTE============================================= ===================On Gardening:"Your first job is to prepare the soil. The best tool for this is your neighbor's motorized garden tiller. If your neighbor does not own a garden tiller, suggest that he buy one."Dave Barry

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